High speed runway snowblower

ABSTRACT

A snowblower for removing snow from a paved surface, such as roadways and airport runways. The snowblower includes a blower assembly having a blower housing that encloses a pair of rotating side augers and a rotating impeller. The blower housing includes an upper hood. The upper hood is angled from a trailing edge to a leading edge such that the angled upper hood provides enhanced visibility of the operator of the snowblower. Each of the side augers is driven by a hydrostatic drive motor that is positioned above the upper hood to remove the drive motors from within the open interior of the blower housing. The drive motors are driven from a power source separate from the power source used to rotate the impeller. The lower, leading edge of the blower housing includes a V-shaped lower edge to further enhance the direction of snow into the blower housing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is based on and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/438,466 filed on Feb. 1,2011.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates to a high speed snowblower.More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a high speed runwaysnowblower that includes a pair of augers positioned on opposite sidesof a center impeller that allows the snowblower to remove snow from apaved surface, such as a roadway, or runway at relatively high speeds.

High speed snowblowers are particularly useful in clearing longstretches of pavement, such as an airport runway. In a typicalapplication, multiple plows or rotating brooms are used to direct snowtoward the side of a runway. A snowblowing machine is then used to movethe piled snow away from the runway and onto the infield of theairfield.

Presently, plows and brooms can be operated at speeds much higher thanthe speed at which currently available truck-mounted snowblowers canremove the snow from the runway. Thus, the snowblowing equipment is thelimiting factor for the amount of time needed to remove snow from arunway.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure generally relates to a snowblower for removingsnow from paved surfaces, such as roads, or runways. The snowblower ofthe present disclosure includes a blower assembly having a pair ofrotating side augers that direct snow toward a center impeller. Thecenter impeller rotates and throws snow into a volute assembly whichthen directs snow out of a discharge chute.

The blower assembly includes a blower housing that defines an openinterior defined at a top end by an upper hood extending between a pairof sidewalls. The upper hood defines the top edge of the blower housingand extends from a leading edge to a trailing edge. When installed onthe blower assembly, the upper hood of the present disclosure decreasesin height from the trailing edge to the leading edge to provide enhancedvisibility for the driver of the vehicle to which the blower assembly ismounted.

Each of the side augers is driven by a hydrostatic drive motor. Inaccordance with the disclosure, the hydrostatic drive motor for each ofthe side augers is positioned outside of the open interior defined bythe blower housing and thus above the upper hood. By moving thehydrostatic drive motors for each of the side augers outside of the openinterior of the blower housing, the blower assembly reduces the amountof snow that is thrown into contact with the hydrostatic drive motors.

The lower leading edge of the blower assembly is V-shaped and each sideis angled from one of the sidewalls to a center apex. The V-shaped lowerleading edge of the blower assembly further directs snow toward therotating center impeller.

The center impeller is driven by an auxiliary diesel engine contained onthe drive vehicle. The auxiliary diesel engine provides power for onlythe center impeller while a separate diesel chassis engine on thevehicle provides the hydraulic pressure to drive each of the verticalside augers.

A back plate contained within the blower housing is angled toward thecenter impeller to further direct snow toward the center impeller.

Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will bemade apparent from the following description taken together with thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carryingout the disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a truck including a truck-mounted blowerassembly of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the truck and blower assembly;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the blower assembly removed from thetruck;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the blower assembly;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the blower assembly;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the blower assembly with the series of snowguards removed to illustrate the configuration of the side augers; and

FIG. 7 is a section view of the blower assembly illustrating theconfiguration of the two different types of auger blades on each of theside augers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a snowblower 10 that includes a highspeed blower assembly 12 mounted to the front end of a vehicle or truck14. The vehicle 14 includes a cab 16 positioned above the blowerassembly 12 such that the driver of the vehicle 14 can view the pavementbeing cleared of snow. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the cab 16 ispositioned at the front end of the vehicle 14 to provide the operatorwith the adequate viewing position to direct the snowblower 10 asneeded.

The blower assembly 12 is mounted to the front end 18 of the vehicle 14through a mechanical linkage 20 that allows the operator of the vehicleto lift the blower assembly 12 off of the ground when desired. Theblower assembly 12 includes a pair of caster wheels 22 and a front,lower leading edge 30 of the blower assembly. The height of the front,lower leading edge 30 is adjustable through adjustments to the casterwheels 22.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the blower assembly 12 includes a blowerhousing 24 that creates an open interior 25 defined by a pair ofsidewalls 26, a curved upper hood 28 and a V-shaped leading edge 30. TheV-shaped leading edge 30 directs snow from the ground into the openinterior 25 of the blower housing 24. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1,the sidewalls 26 define the width of a clearing path for the snowblower10. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the clearing path is 118 inches,although other widths are contemplated.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, a pair of side augers 32 are positionedinward of each of the sidewalls 26. The pair of side augers 32 eachrotate in opposite directions to direct snow toward the center of theblower assembly 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, the blower assembly 12 further includes a rotatingimpeller 34 having a diameter of 82 inches. The impeller 34 extendsthrough a back wall 35 of the blower housing 24 and rotates within openinterior 25 of the blower assembly 12 and directs a now of snow out of adischarge chute 36. Referring back to FIG. 1, the discharge chute 36forms part of a volute assembly 38. As shown in FIG. 3, a voluteassembly 38 is rotatable to adjust the position of the discharge chute36. The position of the discharge chute 36 can be adjusted to directsnow to either side of the snowblower vehicle at various angles relativeto the snowblower 10.

Referring to FIG. 6, the impeller 34 includes four blades 40 thatreceive the snow and throw the snow into the discharge chute 36 and awayfrom the snowblower 10. Although only four blades 40 are shown on theimpeller 34, the impeller could also include five blades in an alternateconfiguration.

Referring now to FIG. 3, each of the rotating augers 32 includes aseparate drive motor 42 used to rotate the auger 32. The separate drivemotors 42 rotate the augers 32 using a supply of hydraulic fluidprovided to the respective drive motor 42 through a supply line 43 froma power source on the vehicle. The power source used to drive the augers32 is separate from the power source used to rotate the impeller 34. Inthis manner, the drive force created by the motors 42 does not drawpower from the drive force required to rotate the impeller 34, unlikeprior art systems in which the power used to rotate the augers 32 wastaken from the same power source used to rotate the impeller 34. Ahydraulic fluid return line 45 returns the hydraulic fluid to the truck,as shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the upper hood 28 of the blower housing 24 generallyextends from a leading edge 44 to a trailing edge 46. As illustrated inFIG. 4, the height of the trailing edge 46 above the ground 47 isgreater than the height of the leading edge 44 such that the upper hood28 slopes downwardly from the trailing edge 46 to the leading edge 44.As can be understood in FIG. 2, the sloped upper hood 28 providesenhanced visibility for the operator of the vehicle 14 positioned in thecab 16. Since the upper hood 28 slopes downwardly from the trailing edge46 to the leading edge 44, the operator of the cab is provided withincreased visibility of the pavement being cleared of snow as comparedto an embodiment in which the leading edge 44 is at the same height asthe trailing edge 46. The height of the trailing edge 46 must be atleast as high as the top edge of the impeller 34, as can be seen in FIG.5. The impeller 34 of the illustrated embodiment has a diameter of 82inches, which is much larger than prior snowblowers. The increaseddiameter of the impeller increases the height of the trailing edge 46 ascompared to prior snowblowers. Thus, since the height of the trailingedge 46 is fixed, the height of the leading edge 44 is decreased toprovide enhanced visibility for the operator.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the impeller 34 is mounted to a centerdriveshaft 49 that extends into a planetary gear reduction unit 50. Theplanetary gear reduction unit 50 is received by a propeller shaftassembly at the front end of the vehicle (not shown) and receives powerfrom an auxiliary diesel engine mounted on the vehicle. The auxiliarydiesel engine mounted on the vehicle operates to only drive the impeller34 through the driveshaft 49, planetary gear reduction unit 50,propeller shaft assembly, and integrated power take off/two speedtransfer case assembly. As described previously, the vertical augerdrive motors 42 are each hydrostatic motors that receive pressurizedhydraulic fluid from the diesel engine which drives the chassis of thevehicle 14. Thus, the power source used to drive each of the augers 32is separate from the power source used to rotate the impeller 34.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the leading edge 30 of the blower housing isdefined by a pair of cutting edges 52 that each extend from one of thesidewalls 26 of the blower housing 24 to an apex 54. The cutting edges52 contact the roadway or runway being cleaned and direct snow upwardand into the open interior 25 of blower housing 24. The V-shape of theleading edge 30 helps to direct snow toward the rotating impeller 34.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, each of the hydrostatic drive motors 42 arelocated above the upper hood 28 such that the drive motors 42 arepositioned away from the open interior 25 of the blower housing 24 whichreceives snow being removed from the pavement. Each of the hydrostaticdrive motors 42 receives hydraulic fluid through a pressurized hydraulicsupply line 43 such that the vertical side augers 32 are rotated todirect snow toward the center impeller 34. In the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 5, each of the drive motors 42 are mounted to a support block 48that extends above the outer surface of the upper hood 28. Each of thesupport blocks 48 provides a secure point of attachment for the drivemotor 42 such that the drive motor 42 can be positioned outside of theopen interior 25.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the blower assembly 12 includes a pair ofattachment hooks 56 that allow the entire blower assembly 12 to besupported on the front end of the operating vehicle 14. The gearreduction unit 50 interacts with a drive assembly of the vehicle toprovide the motive force to rotate the center impeller, as described.

Referring now to FIG. 3, inside the blower housing the back wall 35extends between the auger 32 and the rotating impeller 34. The back wall35 is angled toward the impeller 34 to further direct snow toward therotating impeller 34.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the blower assembly 12 further includes acenter snow shield 60 and a pair of side snow shields 62 that are eachattached to the leading edge 44 of the upper hood 28. The snow shields60, 62 each act as deflectors to aid in retaining snow within the openinterior 25 of the blower housing 24 such that the rotating impeller 34can discharge the retained ice and snow through the discharge chute 36.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the pair of side augers 32 that each areindependently rotatable by one of the drive motors 42. Each of the sideaugers 32 includes a center shaft 64 that rotatably extends between theupper hood 28 and a bottom wall of the blower housing 24. The centershaft 64 is generally divided into an upper portion 66 and a lowerportion 68. The upper portion 66 includes an auger blade 70 while thelower portion 68 includes an auger blade 72. The upper auger blade 70and the lower auger blade 72 have different configurations andorientations such that the upper portion 66 and the lower portion 68 ofthe side augers 32 perform different functions.

Specifically, the lower auger blade 72 is configured such that rotationof the side auger causes the lower auger blade 72 to direct snow upwardand toward the center of the open interior 25 for discharge by therotating impeller 34. The upper auger blades 70 have a differentconfiguration and are designed to fling snow toward the center of theopen interior and away from the upper hood 28. The function of both theupper and lower auger blades 70, 72 is to direct snow away from thesidewalls 26 and toward the center of the open interior 25. Further,both of the auger blades 70, 72 are configured to direct snow toward therotating impeller for discharge. Since the snowblower assembly 12 of thepresent disclosure is typically used in clearing large runways, it isimportant for all of the snow from the runway to be removed during asingle pass of the snowblower. Thus, the pair of rotating side augers 32function to direct snow that may not initially be removed by therotating impeller 34 back into contact with the rotating impeller forultimate removal.

As described, the longitudinal shape of the bottom section of thesnowblower enclosure is angular such that the snow is directed from thepavement surface to the impeller 34 located at the rear of the blowerhousing 24. Likewise, the snow that enters the blower housing 24 onopposite sides of the impeller 34 is directed upward and toward thecenter of the blower housing 24 by the side augers 32, where the snow isingested by the impeller 34. Since the snow is handled by both the sideaugers 32 and the center impeller 34, some turbulence is created, and acertain amount of residual snow that does not immediately exit thesnowblower enclosure through the volute assembly 38 and discharge chute36 may otherwise be thrown out the front or sides of the snowblowerenclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the center snow shield 60 and the sidesnow shields 62 contain errant snow inside the snowblower enclosure asit is handled by the side augers 32 and the impeller 34. The upper hood28 is designed of a size and shape so that it contains otherwise errantsnow without impeding the snow that is entering the front of thesnowblower during high speed airport snow removal operation. The upperhood 28 is made from Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) Polyethylenematerial or rubber to provide the proper amount of rigidness.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the snowblower assembly 12 furtherincludes a pair of side frame extensions 74. The side frame extensions74 include a vertical plate 76 that is attached to a pair of supportbars 78. The support bars 78 are mounted to the exterior surface of oneof the sidewalls 26 to provide strength and support for the side frameextension 74. The side frame extensions 74 extend out past the leadingedge 44 and function to help contain otherwise errant snow.

Specifically, as the snowblower vehicle moves in a forward direction ona snow-filled runway, there is a natural tendency for some of the snowto otherwise get pushed to the sides of the blower assembly. Inaddition, a certain amount of snow being handled by the side augers andthe center impeller has a tendency to be pushed forward and out of theblower housing. The pair of side frame extensions 74 function toincrease the physical volume of the snow that can be held within theopen interior 25 of the blower housing to keep snow contained within theblower housing to be processed by the rotating impeller. The front frameextensions 74 can be easily removed by maintenance personnel if desired.As described above, the upper hood 28, the center and side snow shields60, 62 and the side frame extensions 74 work together to contain snowwithin the interior 25 of the blower housing while the snow blower istraveling in a forward direction, thereby increasing overall performanceand reducing the amount of residual snow that is left on the runwaysurface during the snow removal operation. We claim:

1. A vehicle-mounted snowblower assembly for removing snow frompavement, comprising: a blower housing having a pair of spaced sidewallsand an upper hood extending between the sidewalls to define an openinterior that receives snow to be removed; a rotating impeller extendingthrough a back wall of the blower housing and into the open interior toreceive the snow to be removed, wherein the upper hood has a widthdefined between a leading edge and a trailing edge, wherein the upperhood is downwardly declined from the trailing edge to the leading edge.2. The snowblower of claim 1 wherein the height of the trailing edge ofthe upper hood above a ground surface is approximately equal to adiameter of the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supported onthe ground surface.
 3. The snowblower of claim 2 wherein the height ofthe leading edge of the upper hood above the ground surface is less thanthe diameter of the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supportedon the ground surface.
 4. The snowblower of claim 1 wherein the blowerhousing includes a leading edge extending between the pair of sidewalls,wherein the leading edge has a generally V-shape having an apexpositioned between the two sidewalls.
 5. The snowblower of claim 1wherein the width of the upper hood between the leading edge and thetrailing edge is approximately constant.
 6. The snowblower of claim 1further comprising: a pair of side augers mounted within the openinterior on opposite sides of the rotating impeller; and a pair of drivemotors each coupled to one of the side augers, wherein the drive motorsare operable to rotate one of the side augers.
 7. The snowblower ofclaim 6 wherein the drive motors are each mounted above the upper hoodand outside of the open interior of the blower housing.
 8. Thesnowblower of claim 1 further comprising a pair of side frame extensionseach attached to one of the sidewalls, wherein each of the side frameextensions extends past the leading edge of the blower housing.
 9. Avehicle-mounted snowblower assembly for removing snow from pavement,comprising: a blower housing having a pair of spaced sidewalls and anupper hood extending between the sidewalls to define between an openinterior that receives snow to be removed; a rotating impeller extendingthrough a back wall of the blower housing and into the open interior toreceive the snow to be removed; a pair of side augers mounted within theopen interior on opposite sides of the rotating impeller; and a pair ofdrive motors each coupled to one of the side augers, each of the drivemotors being positioned above the upper hood and outside of the openinterior of the blower housing.
 10. The snowblower of claim 9 whereineach of the drive motors are driven by a power source different from thepower source that rotates the impeller.
 11. The snowblower of claim 9further comprising a pair of side frame extensions each attached to oneof the sidewalls, wherein each of the side frame extensions extends pastthe leading edge of the blower housing.
 12. The snowblower of claim 9wherein the blower housing includes a leading edge extending between thepair of sidewalls, wherein the leading edge has a generally V-shapehaving an apex positioned between the two sidewalls.
 13. The snowblowerof claim 9 wherein the upper hood has a width defined between a leadingedge and a trailing edge, wherein the upper hood is downwardly declinedfrom the trailing edge to the leading edge.
 14. The snowblower of claim13 wherein the height of the trailing edge of the upper hood above aground surface is approximately equal to a diameter of the impeller whenthe snowblower assembly is supported on the ground surface.
 15. Thesnowblower of claim 14 wherein the height of the leading edge of theupper hood above the ground surface is less than the diameter of theimpeller when the snowblower assembly is supported on the groundsurface.
 16. A snowblower for removing snow from pavement, comprising: avehicle; a blower assembly mounted to the vehicle, the blower assemblyincluding a blower housing having a pair of spaced sidewalls and anupper hood extending between the sidewalls to define an open interiorthat receives the snow to be removed; a rotating impeller extendingthrough a back wall of the blower housing and into the open interior toreceive the snow to be removed; a pair of spaced side augers mountedwithin the open interior on opposite sides of the rotating impeller; anda pair of drive motors each coupled to one of the side augers, each ofthe drive motors being operable to rotate one of the side augers,wherein the pair of drive motors are each mounted above the upper hoodand outside of the open interior of the blower housing.
 17. Thesnowblower of claim 16 wherein the upper hood has a width definedbetween a leading edge and a trailing edge, wherein the upper hood isdownwardly declined from the trailing edge to the leading edge.
 18. Thesnowblower of claim 16 wherein the height of the trailing edge of theupper hood above a ground surface is approximately equal to a diameterof the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supported on the groundsurface.
 19. The snowblower of claim 18 wherein the height of theleading edge of the upper hood above the ground surface is less than thediameter of the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supported onthe ground surface.